Shooting Star
by LostNovember
Summary: Gail is forced to make the most difficult decision in her life, and Holly is there to support her. Gail/Holly
1. Chapter 1: Miracle

Author's note: This is my first Rookie Blue fanfic. I had this story idea for while. At first, I was going to ask someone to write it, but then I thought I should probably try to write it myself. This will be a two-chapter story. I'm not an English native speaker. So, a big thank you to **semyautomatic** on Tumblr, who did the beta-reading for me. I hope the story isn't too bad.

**CHAPTER 1**

When the social worker said the adoption process wasn't easy or quick, she wasn't kidding. Gail had been working hard and doing whatever she could to make sure the process went smoothly. With all the possibilities, she didn't want to get her hopes up. Even after all the effort she put in, everything could fall flat at her feet. Gail knew that. Sophie knew that. But Gail couldn't give up on the little girl, not without a fight anyway. She knew that adopting Sophie was worth fighting for. After 14 months of waiting, without Holly by her side, everything was finalized and Gail officially became a mother.

There was only one downside to her joy, she wished Holly was there with her.

They decided to keep their relationship going, even long distance. As they kissed goodbye at the airport, they promised to stay in touch and to call about anything at anytime. That went pretty well for the first few months. But as the time went on, they found themselves drifting apart. Gail was busy with the adoption and police work while Holly was busy with whatever she was doing in San Francisco.

Still, Gail was overjoyed and felt the need to share her happiness with the one person she loves, even though they were thousands of miles apart. So Gail pulled out her phone and dialed Holly.

"Hey, Holly. Guess what?" She could barely contain her excitement.

"Hi, Gail. What is it?" Holly played along, letting out a small laugh and smiling as she spoke. It was so good to talk to her.

"It went through."

"What went through?" Holly was slightly confused.

"The adoption. I'm now a mother, Holly!" Gail squeaked out happily over the line.

"Oh my God, Gail! That's amazing!" Holly was beaming now. If only Gail could see her right now. "I'm so proud of you. You're going to be great mom. I know that."

"Thanks." Although Holly was away, she had been great moral support for Gail through the whole process. There were times when Gail felt everything was too much and would doubt herself, but it was Holly who drew her back in to her right mindset again. And Gail was so thankful for that.

"I just wish you were here so I could tell you in person, you know." She didn't want to sound so down, but she couldn't hide the disappointment in her voice.

"I know honey. You know I would be there if I could." Holly said sympathetically, followed by a long pause. "So, when is Sophie coming to live with you?"

"I'm going to pick her up tomorrow, I already have her room decorated. I decided to paint it blue, her favorite color. And we're going to a festival this weekend. "

Just by hearing that Holly could feel the love Gail had for this child and it made her go back to what Gail said in the locker room at 15. Gail was right – she was ready to be a mom.

"I was hoping that maybe you were able to come visit us this weekend, so we all can hang out together."

"Gail," Holly sighed. "You know I'd love to. But I have this seminar in two days that will go over the weekend."

"That's alright, Holly. Really. I just had to ask." Gail understood how hard a long distance relationship can be, but it still sucked. "I just want you to see you. I miss you."

"I miss you, too." Then there was a knock on Holly's door. An intern needed her help to examine some samples. "Listen Gail, I hate to cut you off like this, but I really have to go. An intern just came by that needs my help. I have to go and make sure he doesn't put the lab on fire." She tried to make the conversation light. "We'll talk later, okay?"

"Okay."

Then they hung up.

Three days later, the day of the festival, Gail's world was turned upside down.

She took Sophie out to the park for the festival as planned. They had a great time together. Sophie had a big smile on her face, enjoying the magic show in front of her, with a box of popcorn in her hand. Then, out of nowhere there were gunshots coming right where they stood. Gail reacted out of instinct, covering Sophie's body with her own while crouching down on the ground. The sound was deafening, and she could almost feel the bullets traveling through the air above her head. She tried to lift her head and scan the area to see where the bullets were coming from. What she saw was horrifying. There were lifeless bodies on the ground. People were screaming and running for their lives. When Gail was sure the shooting was over, her focus turned to the little girl she was holding.

"Sophie?" She called out but received no response. Suddenly Gail had a thought, throughout the shooting she didn't hear Sophie's voice at all. Something was very wrong and that scared the hell out of her.

Gail flipped the girl over. "Hey, sweetie, you okay? Are you hurt?"

Then it hit her.

"Oh my god!" Gail gasped.

The bullet had hit Sophie in the chest and blood was starting to soak through her thick blue jacket. The girl was having trouble breathing and Gail thought the bullet probably hit her lung. No exit wound. Gail's mind went into overdrive immediately. She quickly took off her jacket and pressed it to the wound, hoping to stop the bleeding. Just as she pulled out her phone to call 911, she heard the blasting sirens around the park. She looked up and saw paramedics rushing on the scene, everything becoming even more chaotic.

In a moment of clarity, Gail sensed a small movement under her hands, she looked down only to see Sophie struggling to keep her eyes open.

"It's going to be okay Sophie. I'm right here with you. You're going to be fine." Gail wasn't sure who she was trying to convince, the girl and herself.

"Mom." A faint sound escaped her mouth and then her eyes slowly closed, losing consciousness. And that was the last word Gail heard from her.

Gail didn't realize her right arm was bleeding until one of the paramedics who worked on Sophie commented on it. She didn't even feel the pain. It was numb. Everything in her body was numb. All she cared about at the moment was Sophie. She insisted on going in the ambulance with her daughter without having her injured arm checked. It wasn't life-threatening anyway. The paramedic hesitated a moment but agreed to clean up her wound on the way to hospital.

Sophie's condition had deteriorated as every second passed. Doctors found another gunshot wound on her left side just under her ribcage. By the time they arrived at the hospital, she had lost too much blood and was rushed into surgery immediately. Gail didn't want to let go of her daughter's hand as she was wheeled into surgery, but she was stopped by medical staff telling her to wait outside.

So Gail waited.

Helplessly.

Four hours had gone by and Gail hadn't heard a word from the doctor. She sat in the waiting room staring at her bloody hands – Sophie's blood, praying in her mind that her daughter would survive. She was a tough little girl after all.

"Any relatives for Sophie Shandon?"

Gail's head snapped up.

"I'm her mother. How is she, doctor?" Gail was anxious.

"Okay Mrs. Shandon."

"It's Peck. I'm her adoptive mother. Please tell me how she's doing."

"Why don't we talk somewhere more private? I'll explain everything to you."

Considering his demeanor, Gail thought to herself, _'This can't be good.'_ She followed the doctor to the end of the hallway where there were less people walking by.

"I'm going to be honest with you, Ms. Peck." The doctor started.

Gail took a deep breath and listened intently, bracing herself to take whatever came next.

"She lost a lot blood when she came in. We found two bullet wounds; one punctured her right lung causing it to collapse, but we managed to fix that. It's the other one that worries us. It went into her left side and damaged her artery. We tried to operate on it but she crashed twice during the process. We resuscitated her, but her blood pressure was so low that we had to stop the operation."

"What are you saying?" Gail was trying her best to hold herself together.

"Ms. Peck, your daughter is in a coma and is not breathing on her own. She's on life support at the moment. There's a possibility that she has brain damage due to the lack of oxygen when she coded in the OR."

Gail's world stopped.

She saw the doctor still talking to her but all she heard was a muffled sound. Then she thought she heard the word 'DNR'.

Do not resuscitate.

"What?" Gail asked the doctor, not sure if she heard it right.

"If her condition doesn't improve, a DNR should probably be considered. Sophie may or may not wake up again."

"But there's still hope, right?"

The doctor gave her a sympathetic smile but nodded slightly.

"Can I see her? I have to see her." She begged.

"It's touch and go right now, Ms. Peck. You'll be able to see her when she's stable." The doctor stated and excused himself back to his work.

After the doctor left, Gail didn't move an inch. She felt like someone just hit her with a giant brick. Everything was falling apart for her. She walked to the nearest chair and pulled out her phone, with a trembling hand, calling the only person she needed the most.

Holly.


	2. Chapter 2: Acceptance

A/N: Thank you very much for all the reviews and favorites! I'd never expect that at all. It really means a lot.

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><p><span><strong>CHAPTER 2<strong>

Holly had to turn off her phone when she attended the seminar. So, the first thing she did after it was ended was check her phone. There were several messages from Traci and Steve saying there was an accident at the park which involved Gail and Sophie. Her heart dropped at the mention of the two. She then scrolled down and found one voicemail from Gail.

'_Holly, Sophie's hurt. There was an accident…and I… they said she… I don't know what to do…'_

That's all Gail could make out before breaking down on the line and ending the call.

Holly quickly tried to contact Gail but failed to reach her. So, she called Traci, who briefed her on what was happening. Apparently, two teenagers came to the festival with a handful of weapons and shot at people just because they hated the world, and later killed themselves. Tracy explained that Sophie's injury was very severe, that the doctor suggested the DNR, and that Gail was devastated.

She still had one day left to attend the seminar, but she didn't care. Even if it was important to her job promotion, she needed to be there with Gail.

Later that night, Sophie's condition didn't improve much but was stable enough for the doctors to move her to her own room and allow Gail to visit. She didn't understand why such a thing had to happen to the little girl, to all those innocent people at the park. She sat beside the bed and took her daughter's hand holding it tightly.

Three day ago, Gail was over the moon. Now, she felt as though she was living in a dream – a nightmare. Except that this dream was her reality.

She thought about the time she and Sophie spent together; smiling, laughing and all. She looked at her daughter's face and realized that she may not see that beautiful smile ever again.

The tears fell.

"I'm so sorry."

She let herself cry silently until the exhaustion took over her. She felt herself drifting off into sleep.

Gail didn't how long she dosed off but it must have been quite a while because there was a shade of sunlight in the room. It was the next morning already and there was still no change with Sophie. She was still sleeping motionless, with the sound of beeping machines. Then Gail felt a hand touching her shoulder gently.

"Holly?" She said groggily.

"I'm here, Gail." Holly lowered herself and pulled the blonde closer and hugged her. "I came here as fast as I could."

"They asked me to consider the DNR, Holly." She said over Holly's shoulder. Her voice cracked with emotions. Tears started to form in her eyes. "What am I supposed to do? I couldn't do it."

Then she lost it completely.

Holly just held her, letting the woman sob in her arms.

"It's going to be okay, Gail. We'll get through this together." She said softly and rubbed her back trying to ease the pain that she knew would hurt even more.

She had a chance to talk with the doctor who tended to Sophie earlier that morning. He explained everything to her; the current condition, the prognosis, the possibility of her waking up, if she would ever wake up at all. There was nothing they could do. It was a matter of time.

When the tears subsided, they pulled away from the hug. Holly cupped Gail's face with her hands and gave her a small kiss on her forehead.

She looked into those baby blue eyes. "Whatever you decide, I just want you to know that you're not alone, okay?"

Gail nodded.

Even though Holly asked Gail to go home and change her clothes, Gail refused to leave Sophie's bed side. So Holly called Steve to bring some new clothes for her instead. They sat in the room watching the little girl sleep peacefully. None of them spoke up until Gail broke the silence with a sad laugh.

"You know what's funny?" Gail started. "It took 14 months for Sophie and I to be together, but it took only five minutes that day to burn it all down. I became her mom just four days ago, and now I'm the one who has to decide whether she lives or dies."

She continued. "She died. Twice. They brought her back. She didn't give up on her own destiny. So why would I give up her life? It's not fair for her."

Holly reached out to hold one of Gail's hands. "Maybe this is her destiny. That she lives long enough for you to come to term with the outcome. I know this is tough, but I also know you. That you love this kid very much and you will do what's best for her."

Gail knew what to do. She just didn't want to accept it.

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><p>Days went by. The doctors ran some more tests, but there was still no change to Sophie's condition. Eventually the time had arrived. Everything happened so fast. Gail was left in the room while Holly went out to get some food for Gail. All of a sudden, the machines started beeping wildly. The nurses came rushing in, speaking in all medical jargons that Gail couldn't comprehend. Then, they quickly wheeled the little girl out to the operation room. Again.<p>

When Holly came back, she couldn't find neither Gail nor Sophie. A nurse walked by and informed her that they had to take the girl back to the OR. So she went upstairs and found Gail anxiously pacing back and forth in front of the room. She ran to the blonde just in time, the doctor came out to find Gail.

"There are some blood clots forming around her left lung. We've managed to control that for the time being, but there's a chance that it will make a reoccurrence. "

Holly stood beside Gail and wrapped her arm around Gail's waist.

"If that's the case, I just want you to fully understand that, because of the DNR you signed, we will not revive her again if she crashes. Let her go in peace." The doctor went on.

Gail just nodded her head. Was that the point of the DNR order? Let the sufferers go so that they wouldn't suffer anymore, to let them find peace?

Holly sat with Gail, waiting for the news.

Then the doctor came back with a solemn look on his face. Both Gail and Holly knew what it meant. Sophie had passed. The doctor explained what happened and gave the couple his condolences. Then he left them alone.

They were allowed to see Sophie one last time. Gail walked up to her daughter's lifeless body while Holly hung around at the doorway, feeling the need to give Gail some space.

Gail stared at the girl's face. She wasn't going to see those big brown eyes again. Tears rolling down her face, she leaned down and kissed her daughter goodbye.

"I'm so sorry, Sophie. I love you."

Her legs gave in and she fell down sobbing quietly on the floor. Holly, who was watching the whole scene unveiling to her, walked in and picked the distressed woman up. Right there at that moment, she just wanted to hold her.

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><p>The funeral was quiet and simple. Apart from Holly, Gail only invited Steve and her friends from 15. After it was over, the couple went back to Gail's new apartment. Once inside, Holly could see the efforts Gail had put in to create a home and family for Sophie. She saw a photo strip of the three of them on a refrigerator. It was taken before she left for San Francisco. They were at a fun park and went into a photo booth. That was a fun time. They were all so happy together. Then everything had changed.<p>

"So what happens next?" Gail spoke and Holly snapped out of her memory.

"What do you mean?"

"Us." Gail raised her eyes and looked at Holly. "I mean, when will you go back to the States?"

"Tomorrow evening."

Gail nodded understandably. Holly practically left her work and was there for her for almost a week. She had to go back sooner or later.

"But I will come back for you. Permanently."

"What?" Gail was confused.

"I want to be with you, Gail. I'll go back and shorten my contract. I'll be away for a month or two and then I'll be here with you."

Gail was stunned.

"You don't have to do that, Holly."

"No, I don't. But this is what I want to do. Be with you." Holly walked up to get closer to Gail and kissed her on the lips.

She thought about going back to Toronto and had conversations about it with her boss a few times. When this accident happened, she knew that this was the right thing to do. She didn't want to be apart from the woman she loved anymore. On her first day back to Toronto, she called her boss telling him that she would like to shorten her contract but also wanted to give him some time to find her replacement. Her boss was disappointed but respected her decision.

"We're going to be okay." Holly said, resting her forehead against Gail's.

"Thank you." Gail whispered. "For being here for me. For us."

**END **

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><p>AN: I'm sorry about how this story ends. I know this chapter is disappointing for some readers. It's just that I wanted to write a story about Gail's emotional journey in a short period of time where she finally got what she wanted (the adoption even if it's just for a moment.) but not exactly how she would want it to be. This is what I came up with. I only planned it as a one-shot so I'm not sure if I'll write more to it. I'm not a good writer anyway, to be honest. Also, English is not my language so it's a little bit difficult for me to write it well. So, for now, I'm calling it a complete story. This is a sad story but I hope you guys still enjoy reading it though :D


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